Memories
by Madhumalati
Summary: A strange encounter from his distant past haunts Inuyasha. Who was that miko anyway? R


**_Memories_**

Disclaimer: seriously, no. Inuyasha and Kagome belong to each other, certainly not to me. Uh...what's the fricking point of these things anyway?

He never talked about his childhood. This was a basic bit of information about Inuyasha that everyone who knew him had acquired, with various levels of pain involved in the process depending on their specie and gender. Even Miroku, who had been able to trick all sorts of things out of him, had been unsuccessful; as he had ruefully remarked, Inuyasha could be as canny as a fox when he really wanted to be, he acted stupid mostly because he couldn't be bothered to think. Aside from emotional matters, Kagome had interrupted, where he really was a clueless moron.

But that was beside the point.

He was in a strange mood tonight, and Kagome could feel it all the way from the kitchen of the little cottage in the forest where they lived. Her powers had been increased considerably when she had reabsorbed the complete Shikon no Tama, and her bond with her husband had increased her ability to sense his emotions and thoughts.

_The boy – no, half-breed, because that was all he was, worthless, unloved, fool half-breed – ran, and the monsters chased him. It was a situation right out of a child's nightmare, and like any dreamer, Inuyasha felt everything around him to be vaguely unreal; the cliff he was pressing into, the three wormlike creatures ten times his size that were trying to off him, the silvery moonlight spilling over everything, treacherously beautiful. He squared his shoulders and leaped out of hiding as one of the snake-demons popped its head into his little hole. They were going to kill him, that was obvious, because he was strong, maybe as strong as a human already even if he was only nine, but he couldn't take on three demons. But he wasn't going to die cringing and shivering like a weak brat. _

_With hopeless bravery, he brandished his long nails at them and screamed defiance. _

_A dazzling flash of deep rose light lit up the entire mountainside. When the light faded, the three youkai were gone, leaving him blinking in adrenalin loss. That light. It was a purification blast, and it held more power than anything he had ever seen before. _

_But why would a miko save a hanyou? Save him?_

_No, it had to be some sort of coincidence. _

'What are you thinking about?' Kagome said, and Inuyasha jumped. He hadn't noticed her walking up to him. Since she usually made more noise than a troop of soldiers, and he usually made some comment about it, she was surprised. 'You were thinking, weren't you,' she said. 'Okay, I'll just……' she trailed off and made to leave, but he made a kind of annoyed grunt that she interpreted as a request to stay. His huff when she sat down proved that she was right. 'Want to talk about it?'

Sniff. 'Keh.'

'Okay,' she said, and lay back and stared at the sky. Complete silence reigned for twenty minutes. The night and the gentle breeze were making her sleepy. Her eyes jerked open in surprise when he suddenly spoke.

'I was thinking about the first time I met her. She reminded me of someone.'

Kagome didn't ask who _she _was. There was only one _she_ they spoke of, and even her death – well, second death – hadn't stopped him from thinking about her. At least now, years later, thoughts of Kikyou's second demise no longer plunged him into deep depression. Time was the only healer for these wounds. 'Really?' she said instead, not trusting herself to speak much more.

Always Kikyou. Always her.

'Hmm. I can't remember who, though. It was such a long time ago.'

'Does it matter that much?'

'Nooo,' he said unconvincingly.

_The dancing purple afterimages slowly receded from his vision, and Inuyasha looked up to see another standing before him. It was a miko, clad in traditional clothing. She was quite old, in her early thirties, perhaps. He hadn't seen humans in years, not since his mother died and the villagers drove him out, and she seemed alien to him. She was stunningly pretty, he thought, with long black hair and deep brown eyes that were…things he'd forgotten the feel of. Kind, warm, compassionate, caring. _

'_Are you all right?' she asked him, dropping to her knees to look him in the face. Not knowing quite how to react, he folded his little arms over his chest and snorted. _

'_I could have taken them on, you know,' he said proudly. _

'_You know, you probably could have,' she said, and there was laughter in her voice. Not sneering, like it would have been if she had been laughing at him, but fond, as if she were thinking of something else entirely. 'It would be just like you.'_

'_Huh?' he said, betraying his age in the innocent widening of his eyes. The laughter grew in hers. _

'Yes it does,' she said, nudging him companionably. She felt more comfortable around him since they had confessed their feelings for each other. 'If you want to talk about it……'

'_Never mind,' she said, smiling. 'Were they hunting you?'_

'_Yeah,' the boy replied with false bravado. 'They're always after me. Half-breeds shouldn't live, they say.' His toe scuffed self-consciously at the earth. _

'_That's a lie, now,' she said, mildly but firmly. 'You've as much right to live as anyone, and don't you forget it.'_

'_Hey, are you a hanyou?' he said, looking up at her with sudden hope. If she was so sympathetic, there was no way she was a human, right?_

_She smiled a little sadly. 'No, but I know a few.'_

'_Oh,' he said, disappointed. 'Okay, then.'_

'_What are you doing out here at this time of night anyway?' she said, looking around them at the forbidding scenery. _

'_What d'you think? I live here,' he replied. _

'_Here?!' she said shocked. 'In this place? All alone?'_

_He looked sulky. 'I can take care of myself.'_

'_No doubt, but……' She looked very sad all of a sudden. 'I'm sorry.'_

_Genuinely puzzled, one dark eyebrow rose. 'What for?'_

'Not really,' Inuyasha said, one white ear flicking impatiently. She nodded and turned away so that her back was resting against his, sighing at the warmth.

'_What's your name?' she said, still eye-to-eye with him. _

'_Inuyasha,' he replied. This was the longest conversation he'd had with anyone since his……mother……'What's yours?'_

'_That's a secret,' she said and tapped his nose affectionately with a long forefinger before rising to her feet. His nose twitched adorably, trying to capture her faint, elusive scent. 'I have to go now.'_

'_Hey! Wait!' he was suddenly desperate. 'Where are you going?'_

'_Home,' she said quietly. 'Goodbye, Inuyasha.'_

_She began to walk away, slowly. She had gone some ten paces when he called out again. 'What is it?' she said, already dreading what he was going to say. _

'_Can I……can I……' he said, and stopped. She came back to him and knelt down again. _

'_I wish I could,' she said. 'Believe me; you don't know how much I wish it. But you can't follow me where I'm going.'_

'_Keh,' he said, his mask dropping down again. 'Go ahead and leave. It's all you humans know to do anyway.'_

_A flicker of pain crossed her face. 'That's not true, Inuyasha. Not all the time. You'll find that there's some humans out there who don't leave. And there's people who like you, and trust you, and love you. You just have to find the right ones.'_

'_Keh,' the boy said again, but she knew he was listening. _

_This time, the miko didn't resist. She simply leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on the boy's forehead, brushing his silver bangs aside, and hugged him close. _

'It was a long time ago,' Inuyasha said finally. Kagome smiled. If he couldn't see her face, he'd talk, and she knew it. He hated it when anyone saw his more private expressions. 'I was a child. She saved my life.'

_That was the first hug he'd had since forever, and the boy relished it, although he wasn't quite sure where his hands went, so he put them awkwardly on her shoulders. She smelled nice, smelled like his mother but different. Smelled human, he supposed. But nice. _

_When she pulled away, she was crying. She stood up and walked away quickly._

_One last time, he called, because he was lonely and she was kind and because he really had to know. 'Who are you?' he cried, and she stopped dead. Turned around for the second time. _

'_Don't you recognise me, Inuyasha?' she said. _

_He shook his head, numbly. _

'_Oh, well. You will.'_

'_What does that mean?'_

'_We're bound together, Inuyasha. For all time. You've always been you, and I have been me, and we've been……it doesn't matter. Suffice to say that I remember you. Maybe someday, you'll be the one to remember me. This time, you're too late. Maybe sometime later.'_

'_Why do you have to go?' he whispered. _

'_Because I'm dying, Inuyasha,' she said bluntly. 'I won't live nearly long enough to be any good to you. But I can promise you this. We will meet again. I might be a little different, but you'll remember……won't you?' _

_He was so young, she thought, and was grateful, because if he had been a little older he would have wondered at the longing in her voice. _

'_Farewell, Inuyasha. Until we meet again.' She walked away, and this time she didn't look back. _

'There was something about her,' Inuyasha said. 'Something……familiar. And she said the strangest things……'

The End.

A/N: You didn't think it took five hundred years for someone to reincarnate, did you? maybe I'll continue this if enough people ask, and then see where it goes. Read and review, please.

Niru


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